Have been enjoying the reissue of Deux Filles' Silence & Wisdom/Double Happiness, a strange ambient project from the 80s involving Simon Fisher Turner. Also listened to a disappointing 2012 release from Moebius and Asmus Tietchens that was too abrasive and glitchy for my taste.

Forrest

Hi Forrest! Happy New Year!

Yes, Dream Logic could be longer but it may be that it was an ECM thing. Ralph Towner once told me that he liked ECM's view that the "classic" vinyl-dictated album length of approx. 40 minutes was reasonable when expecting a certain level of quality from an artist in that measure every couple of years. BTW there are many excellent live chunks of Dream Logic on YouTube.

I was never fully sold on his previous music but this is really excellent and the whole package is gorgeous. As much as I like the new Eno, this gives it a run and outclasses Lux on packaging by a long shot.

Well, considering the covers of Kite Stories etc., I'm pretty sure Eno had his hand on the tiller for this one! Just got the pre-order download and have to say it's really nice. I liked his last collab too, Drums Between the Bells.

I wish somebody would take the cover art process out of his hands. Milk Sea was promising on that front but, really, after the brilliantly bang-on work on the ambient series, there's no excuse for his recent visual work on CD covers. And I guess the Indie laid off some proof readers as you noted! Also, when the English end a proclamation with "Don't they?" or "Aren't they?" then surely a good journalist should take that as a challenge to counter and make things interesting. That said, looking forward to hearing it.

I saw Brendan solo last year with Robin Guthrie. Very good show all 'round. DCD is another matter for me. I think they still look and sound great and have done some pleasant enough new work to go along with the reunification.

I just find I can't relate to what I have to describe as the early music/ethno/mystic/escapist pastiche that they eventually perfected and polished into the ground. And lyrically (because they foreground it) it can be just silly romantic goop. Nonetheless, I still cherish some of their work.

I liked the '93 version of DCD because Brendan revealed himself as a sincere balladeer with a great voice. Lyrically kind of naive on occasion, but compelling.

But, as with Magazine (who I prefer for their power, wit and continued lyrical relevance) they should continue on for as long as possible because, whatever your view, the world's a better place with them in it!

K. Leimer - Day Music (an interesting multi-file long-form release that rests somewhere between Music For Airports and the piano/electronics collaborations of Mathias Grassow and Bruno Sanfilippo; very nice and droney; the four 70+ minute files can supposedly be played simutaneously, but I haven't tried that one yet)

Now this sounds interesting! Having recently listened to Somnium I want to explore more long-form works again.

Aside from the easy recommendations of artist's projects I've worked on this year (Forrest Fang's two wonderful releases and loscil's piece for Tweaked Conspiracies), I've been relishing a recent resurgence of really great Canadian (chamber?) prog/pop this year. In particular:

Bernocchi/Budd/Guthrie-Winter Garden.It's great, yeah, although nothing really new. Guess I'm a bit disappointed there wasn't more Bernocchi and/or more experimenting going on. If you don't listen close it's hard to tell it's not just G&B.

I don't think we're ever going to get a serious departure from Robin and Harold. I view their releases as a kind of angelic sonic comfort food that comes along more frequently than I'd ever imagined it would and will be very sad when it comes to an end.

I just get the feeling that the conditions in today's world do not allow for the development of talent and creativity to its highest potential. Modern life has too many distractions.

It feels like we are on the downside of a great hill that has only recently been climbed. But I suppose we should expect the unexpected, too. I know people who argue that there are unprecedented levels of creativity unleashed by our current circumstances. I tend to agree though it's hard not to see everything as being fragmented beyond repair sometimes.

I have one ipod, and thousands of CDs. Is downloading perfectly green? Hell no, but I do think it's greener than shipping/making CDs, LPs, etc. Manufacturing, shipping, and displaying a CD + me driving to the store to get it, vs. a download: seems clear.

I think we're headed for more of a cottage industry model for CD manufacturing in any case. I have an iPod 32gb Touch that was given to me. I like it. But one good drop and it all goes away. Then I'll have to have had another device or two as back-up.In reality, like so many technologies, these things are not so much replaced as they become another layer in the great swelling techno-midden. I was recently in rural Washington state and came across displays of commercial music cassettes in gas stations!

I suspect that the packaging for ipods, etc. (and the materials to make them) is not greater than the materials for cds, LPs, etc. but I could be wrong.

I can't imagine we could get a complete data overview at this time but it would certainly be helpful.

There is no contest between, say, a CD digipack in a light wrap vs. virtually any hard plastic encased, plastic insert nestled iPod. Even the little ear buds are way overdone in terms of packaging. Then there's the retail floorspace now dedicated to the marketing of such things.

Now, as CD/DVD sales move online, more packaging is required and more transportation infrastructure and energy is used in the music retail industry equivalent of the single occupancy vehicle multiple trip model!

I completely agree. Worse still is the fact that the conditions you describe affect our ability to communicate effectively in other aspects of our lives. Politics and daily social discourse is affected in myriad ways. Relationships suffer, levels of potential connection to art suffer. After that, producers begin to pander to the condition so that complexity and nuance in all aspects get dumbed down.

OTOH I see some glimmer of resistance from young people who are seeing this all take place.